Crazy Reasons Republicans Give For Not Ending The Government Shutdown

If Americans are wondering why the 2013 government shutdown hasn't ended yet, it may be because Republicans want some respect out of the political storm around the funding freeze that has blocked all non-essential services of the government of the United States.

That’s right. The stalemate on Capitol Hill, which is now in its third day and has left about 800,000 federal workers on furlough, has gone beyond getting rid of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Then there are some lawmakers who don’t know why they are actually negotiating on a 2014 continuing resolution to reopen the government. But don’t take our word for it. Here are some of the reasons conservatives have given for the continuing shutdown:

No More Disrespect

“We’re not going to be disrespected,” Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana told the Washington Examiner. “We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is.”

Not About Obamacare Anymore

“This is not just about Obamacare anymore,” Rep. Michael Grimm, a relative centrist from Staten Island, N.Y., told the Examiner in an article mentioning how Republicans want to strengthen their hand in the looming debt ceiling showdown.

The Shutdown Is Exciting

“We’re very excited,” said Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, former presidential candidate. “It’s exactly what we wanted, and we got it.”

The Chaos Unites The Party

“It’s wonderful,” said Rep. John Abney Culberson of Texas. And according to the Washington Post, Culberson was clapping his hands to emphasize the point. “We’re 100 percent united!” (That may be an optimistic view, considering the split between the radical tea party-backed wing and about 20 GOP moderates who've indicated they would vote to end the shutdown with a clean continuing resolution that funds the government if it is brought to the floor.)

President Barack Obama had a nice counterpoint when he spoke at a Maryland construction company on Thursday:

“You [Congress] have already gotten the opportunity to serve the American people. There’s no higher honor than that. You’ve already gotten the opportunity to help businesses like this one, workers like these. So the American people aren’t in the mood to give you a goody bag to go with it. ... If you’re being disrespected it’s because of that attitude you got, that you deserve to get something for doing your job.”